Following the success of the recent Starcross swim, Exmouth Swimming and Life-Saving Society’s senior and junior open water swimmers braved the cold water of Oddicombe Bay on Saturday 18th August writes Alison Cornwell-Brown.

With its amphitheatre style steps, Oddicombe  Bay offered the perfect view for the large group of supporters who were able to watch the swimmers complete a 1500m circuit. The senior swimmers had to swim two laps of the course for their 3000m competition.

The swimmers were joined for a while by a large grey seal, a regular visitor to Oddicombe Bay.

Exmouth’s Cameron Carpenter-Warren was first senior home, and also took the medal for first Devon swimmer. In the boys’ junior event Liam Spiller fought hard to take third place, as did Kiera Jordan for the girls. All the swimmers completed the course including Joe Schunck and Eveie McGlinn who had their first taste of Open Water swimming.

Exmouth’s swimmers were delighted to take home the team shield for the fastest team made up of the fastest senior male and female and junior male and female swimmer from each club.

Swimmers in the junior competition were:
Liam Spiller
Aiden Spiller
George Cornwell-Brown
Katharine Cornwell-Brown
Henry Cornwell-Brown
Eveie McGlyn
Joe Schunck

Seniors included:
Cameron Carpenter-Warren
Yvonne Carpenter-Warren
Olly White
Andy McGlyn.

Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society held their annual Starcross to Exmouth open water swim on Wednesday 1st August 2012.  The club’s open water swimmers, who include channel swimmers Olly White and Mark Westaway and Tara Dudley who is scheduled to swim the channel in the coming week, were joined by competitive and development and masters swimmers some of whom were competing in the open water for the first time.

The swim from the Starcross jetty to Carlton Slipway on Exmouth sea front is tidally assisted and a strong tide and tail wind meant that swimmers completed the course in some fast times.  The swim was won for the 5th consecutive year by Cameron Carpenter-Warren in a time of 31.09 with last year’s junior champion Liam Spiller pushing him all the way.  Open water and master’s swimmer Ian Lang narrowly beat 2nd placed Junior George Cornwell Brown by two seconds to claim 3rd place overall.  Tara Dudley finished in fifth place overall to defend her women’s title.  Ladies club captain Eve Birrell won the Junior Ladies competition in a time of 35.31 which narrowly beat Yvonne Carpenter-Warren for 2nd place in the overall ladies championship.   Mark Westaway was the only swimmer to complete the course swimming Breaststroke and finished in 16th position having just returned from the Lake District where he beat the 48 year old British Long Distance Swimming Association Breaststroke record for swimming Ulswater. 

23 of the 25 swimmers who started completed the course.  Juniors Eve Birrell, Kiera Jordan, Katherine Cornwell-Brown, Lewis Webb, Aidan Spiller, and Kaylee Sprigmore all completed the course for the first time.  Claire Loman, Julie Thomson, Virginia Hill, Polly Woodward, Alison Martineau and Martin Sprigmore were also new to the swim whilst Karen White returned to the swim after many years.

Open water secretary and swim organiser Barry Westaway said that it was encouraging to have such a big interest in open water swimming from the society’s junior swimmers who can continue the tradition and success that Exmouth have as an Open Water squad.